February 5th, 2010
By BRUCE HALLIHAN
hallihan.bruce@dailygleaner.com

Norris earns national recognition

Betty Dermer-Norris of Fredericton has been going "pretty much non-stop" from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily since she arrived in Vancouver on Jan. 7.

But the director of team operations for Canada's Olympic Committee for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games received some news the other day that made her stop in her tracks.

Dermer-Norris was named to the list of the country's Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity.

The list is compiled by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS). Twenty women were named to the 2009 edition, which recognizes women who have made a significant impact as administrators, advocates, coaches, executives, fundraisers, managers, producers, psychologists and volunteers. Their selection to the list reflects their influential activity in the calendar year 2009.

"I'm very humbled by the accolades," the ever-enthusiastic Dermer-Norris said Thursday from her office set up at the Olympic Village in Vancouver.

"I'm in there with some pretty incredible women who've accomplished so much, so I was pretty surprised by it. I guess I was recognized for my preparation and all the logistics that go on behind the scenes.

"I have been doing it for a few years now," she added with a chuckle.

This is the eighth Most Influential Women list announced by CAAWS.

Fredericton's Nicole Smith, chair of the CAAWS board of directors, outlined how the list is indicative of the diverse roles that Canadian women fulfil.

"This year's list reflects the reality of how women are influential throughout our country at many different levels, and in a wide variety of activities," Smith said in a release. "It is really quite remarkable to see the significant spectrum of women who bring their considerable talents to encourage, direct and manage at provincial, national and international levels."

Kim Norris, Betty's husband, is proud of his wife.

"I was quite impressed," Kim said. "It was a nice gesture by the group. She's a workaholic, but she really enjoys what she does. It's the old story: If you don't enjoy it, you wouldn't do it. She has a lot of great people she works with and she enjoys their company."

The feeling must be mutual.

This will be the eighth Olympic Games for Dermer-Norris in a volunteer or staff capacity.

"I've got to count it on my fingers," she said with a laugh.

She was there in 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2008. However, she wasn't at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, the last Olympics held in Canada.

"I was working for the Town of Oromocto as director of leisure services," she said.

In 2002, she was the director of village operations for Canada in Salt Lake City, Utah. In both 2004 and 2006, she was the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) games and staff manager. In B.C., she's reprising the role she played in 2008 in Beijing.

"I'm the quarterback in terms of all of our on-site operations," Dermer-Norris said. "We have two Olympics villages, in Vancouver and in Whistler, so I have that overall coordinating responsibility. When the Games begin, I'll be managing the operations from here in Vancouver, but basically directing both operations."

Yesterday was the first official day of the opening of the Vancouver village.

"We started visiting this site five years ago, from two to four times a year," Dermer-Norris said. "Where I'm standing right now in my office, I remember it being flat, with old decrepit buildings all around. I've seen the progression from it being a hole in the ground to being an incredible venue. We're overlooking the Vancouver skyline. The view is absolutely spectacular."

Canada has 206 athletes participating, "but you double that by the number of mission and support staff that we have on site."

Sports Illustrated predicts Canada will finish with 30 medals, second only to Germany's 35. SI thinks the United States will place third with 27 medals. The Germans topped the medal count at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy with 29 medals. The Americans were second with 25, followed by the Canadians with 24.

"I think we'll hear O Canada being played many times, for sure," Dermer-Norris said. "We're all talking about how incredibly special that will be, especially the first one."

Warm temperatures and lack of snow have created some headaches for Olympic organizers, but Dermer-Norris is confident those challenges can be overcome.

"It's definitely very mild here in Vancouver," she said. "There's been a lot of rain here. It's their winter and that's what they usually get, a lot of precipitation. But precipitation is good. If it's raining here in Vancouver, Cypress Mountain is usually OK. That's where the biggest concern is, but they've been trucking snow in and packing it down. They've been helicoptering snow in from the higher peaks of the mountain.

"The temperature has dropped the past couple of days, so I think they'll be in good stead. VANOC has been on top of this, for sure, and Whistler is fine. They've been getting quite a bit of snow over the past week or so."

Kim will be flying to B.C. Feb. 17 to take in the Games as a spectator. He'll meet up with an "old buddy," former University of New Brunswick grad Dave Banks, now a lawyer in Honolulu.

"It should be really enjoyable, a little more relaxing than Betty's day-to-day duties," Kim said with a chuckle.

"I am doing a lot of hard work," Dermer-Norris said, "but at the end of the day it's all worth it. There's a real true sense of pride, from us as a delegation, because we're one of 83 countries that get to enjoy this experience. I'm so proud of what we've accomplished as we've prepared to be a great host."